Back after a LONG Hiatus.

I've been very busy, which is a very bad excuse for not being here. One of the things I vowed is that I would make a much bigger effort to keep up to date on my blog. Please help me keep this vow. I'm holding you (as well as me) accountable. K?

Now that we have that out of the way. 

I kept trying to pick a project that I've completed to highlight this first blog post of the year. Kept going through my pictures and I just can't seem to make up my mind. So I thought maybe I would just show you some of the things I've done since my last blog post. Sounds fair to me right? 

So here goes! WARNING.....picture heavy!

 Pretty Coral dresser done for a client. Not my usual colour...but turned out exactly as she wanted for her little girl :)

 One of about a dozen couches I've done in the last year. Massive projects but some of my favs as well since they usually go from being absolutely ready for the dump to something you would be proud to have in your home.

 This sold almost instantly. It sat for probably 3 months before it spoke to me and told me to hurry up and just do it..so glad I listened.

 My first fabric/wood combo piece. I won't be so afraid to do this again. I love the result.

 This stool now sits proudly in my living room. I've done my whole living room in this material and LOVE it.

 This baby was bought at a yard sale and was in a bright pumpkin orange. Hubby told me to burn it, it was THAT ugly! But once I did this to it....he fell in love and now sits in our front hallway. :)

 Notice a theme? Oh my....some of these chairs are not completed in the pictures. I swear they are done and are all now gracing someone else's home.

 This one sold before she was done....Love when that happens.

 This one was a restoration. Yup, do that too.

 What a great foot stool that I found out was originally a piano bench. how cool is that?

 This pretty lady came from England and I picked her up in Tennessee. She now has a new home in Ontario :)

 And this went to a family with a British background...how perfect is that?

 This one was a surprise for a mans fiance...what a sweet gift.

 And who doesn't love antique wash stands? Right?

 I have no idea who has these now. Is it sad that I don't remember every story?

 And this wonderful wing back...note, that stool now sits in front of this chair.

 This set went home to be with a man who had just bought his first home. His very first pieces of furniture to move in. I love that :)

 And these wing backs...matching set. Pay no attention to the fabric hanging down. I sometimes take pics before I finish up the details.

Notice a theme here? 

I'm doing a LOT more upholstery. And I LOVE it. 

But I can't give up the painting. It's so nice to do both, so I can never get tired of what I do. 

Would love your feedback on anything you've seen and thoughts on what you would like to see this year.

My roadside find...almost finished.

Last week I went to a town wide sale. (gotta love those town wides) 

But shortly after leaving and grabbing my coffee I saw this sad sad dresser on the side of the road with a big ole sign that said FREE!

Of course I had to stop! 

The Veneer was lifting on the top and one side, it was totally missing on the other side. The front and top had been painted, and part of the far side. 

BUT it was solid. So I removed the drawers and started dragging it towards my truck. 

I'm pretty good at hauling stuff, but this sucker was heavy! And I was struggling. 

Thankfully a really nice man drove by, turned around and helped me out. Apparently he's used to it, since he father was a picker! How cool is that? 

It took up so much room and since I was closer to home than to the town wide, I decided to drop it off first. 

Hubby took one look at it and just shook his head. 

Silly man, he needs to stop that, he knows I can do "something" with it. 

And I did. 

Took all the veneer off, stripped what was left of the paint, tightened the top and sides, sanded it to within an inch of it's life then stained it. 

I wanted something unusual. 

So I took the drawers, laid them close together and laid an old lace table cloth over it. 

I've done this before and had a harsh time keeping the lace in place, so I wrapped tape around the table cloth and on the drawers. Then gently sprayed it directly from the top. 

I then painted the dresser body. Sanded it...and put a coat of stain over the whole thing again. 

She is one sweet piece now. 

Will update once I get home again (at the cottage now) There is some very sweet detailing between the legs. (that sounds bad doesn't it?) 

Super happy with how it is turning out. :) 

What have you found lately? 

Sharing:
Miss Mustard Seed 
 

Old stereo redo.

Remember all those old stereo's?

You know, the long ones that sat in everyones living rooms?

This obviously is not the one I picked up...but you get the idea. 

Most are no longer working, and if they were, who still has 8 track tapes or records? 

So I never feel bad about taking them apart and redo'ing them. 

I took mine apart, ripped out the guts and did this. 

 I always (almost always) love the details that were put into these pieces. They really were meant to be fine furniture in the home.

 And now this pretty is going to be a part of someone else home. 

The top even slides out for storage. What a great place to put all those winter things, or shoes or whatever. 

I love when a plan comes together in such a pretty way. :) 

Sharing:
Elizabeth & Co.
The 36th Avenue
Miss Mustard Seed  
  

Dancing on the furniture!

I love this time of year for yard sales.

And all the things you find on the side of the road. 

Town wide yard sales are the best. Everyone is out and trying to get rid of their things. 

I'm getting much better at doing the whole drive by thing. You know, where you see a yard sale but it's all toys or kids clothes. 

Yes I know, sometimes they have something really good in them, but it's not what I'm looking for. I'm past that stage in my life. 

I started out grabbing a coffee at my local Timmies yesterday, then headed off. 

On my way, I found this

Of course I had to pull over. The picture makes it look pretty good. But the veneer is coming off all of it. The top and front have been painted. But what you can't see is why I nabbed it. The detail on the bottom and the fact that this baby is solid walnut under all that veneer. The top is loose as is one of the side. Thankfully I know how to fix that. Can't wait to start on it. 

Then off to a local town wide sale. 

Lots of clothes, lots of dishes..but only a bit of furniture. 

So I didn't get a whole lot, but what I did get was quality stuff. 

A few chairs. 

See the Eastlake one? That's a "ladies" chair, and thankfully I had already picked up the "gentleman's" Chair last year...so now I have a matching set. :) Yup....did a bit of a happy dance over that one :) 

Then my crazy wonderful find that nearly had me skipping and dancing on it. 

ok...I admit the colour is awful...but isn't she pretty? 

I had mentioned to hubby just the night before that I wanted to try my hand on this style. Almost like an extended wing back. I can't wait to get started on it. But it does need a bit of repair, and of course, new material. 

Hubby and I sat in front of the computer last night looking a fabric and design for this baby. 

But before all of that.......I have several other couches and chairs that need to be finished up. 

Better get to work. 

All of these are waiting on foam, but have been torn down, painted and ready to go!

My stapler and I are certainly going to get a workout this week :) 

What have you found lately?

My favorite chair

When I started this furniture journey I never considered upholstery. 

Painting was fun. 

Learning how to fix and rebuild and sand and stain and sand some more. 

That was all great. 

recovering a few chair seats here and there was great too. Loved looking at fabric and choosing something that I thought would really update a piece. 

Loved all of it. 

Upholstery? 

Scared the living daylights out of me. 

Doing my first couch.......terrifying!

I've done a few now. 

Not as terrifying as it used to be. 

So when I spotted this chair at one of my favorite picking spots I knew it had to come home with me. 

The material was in such good shape that I seriously considered leaving it alone. 

The only thing that stopped me was my evil brain. 

You see when I see a piece like this I can never stop wondering. 

Wondering what happened on that chair. Were there leaky diapers? A dog or cat that left something that may have been cleaned off the top but maybe soaked through? 

You just never know. 

So off it came. 

 I painted the wood

 New everything

 Different material for front and back

And a "new" chair was born. 

So what do you think? Would you have left it alone? 

Sharing:
Miss Mustard Seed
The 36th Avenue 
Elizabeth & Co.